Tax refunds

A tax refund or tax rebate is the money that you get back from HRMC if you paid too much in tax. By law, if you're travelling to temporary workplaces and paying to make your own way there, you could get a tax refund. On average, a 4-year tax refund claimed through RIFT amounts to £2,500 or £2,000 per year for people in the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

Tax returns

A tax return is how a taxpayer lets HMRC know their annual income, expenses and other personal circumstances. HMRC use it to calculate the tax you owe and claim tax allowances and tax reliefs you're entitled to. There are many reasons you may have to file a tax return, it's not just for the self-employed.

Advice

We’ve been helping people with the taxman since 1999. Our specialist teams work closely with HMRC to put the cash back in your pocket where it belongs. You can be sure that we know the rules inside out. Get in touch if you need help, it's what we're here for.

Our prices

We make our prices as simple as possible so that you don't find yourself with any unexpected bills for "hidden extras". All aftercare is included and any refund you get is covered by our RIFT Guarantee. There are no upfront charges. We'll handle everything with HMRC for you and even remind you when it's time to claim again next year.

About us

The RIFT Group is a family business based in Kent, founded by Jan Post in 1999. We're specialists in tax refunds and tax returns and we're the only company in our field to have been awarded the Institute of Customer Service "ServiceMark" for excellence in customer service. Get in touch to see how we can help you today.

Work mileage tax rebate​

If your employer isn't giving you enough of a mileage allowance, you could be due a HMRC tax rebate on your travel. RIFT tax refunds are the UK's leading experts at getting your cash back from the taxman. Check our tax refund calculator to see what you could claim. Alternatively, get your mileage rebate rolling by answering the 4 simple questions here.

You could qualify for a HMRC mileage claim if you're:

Travelling to temporary workplaces, meaning you work at any one site for under 2 years.

Travelling as an essential part of your work, such as to visit clients or suppliers.

Remember that not everyone can claim mileage tax relief. Simply driving to your permanent workplace everyday doesn't qualify, for example. Also, it's not as simple as 'claiming mileage back from HMRC'. It's the tax you've paid on those travel costs that you're owed back. Misunderstandings about rules are among the main reasons why people miss out on getting their money back from the taxman.

How do I make a HMRC mileage claim?

RIFT's expert teams will make sure you always get back everything you're owed, and keep you informed all the way. Your free MyRIFT account will let you check and update your information at any time, and track your claim's progress wherever you are in the world. Check now if you're due a refund on anything you've spent travelling to work.

The taxman sets out Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates to give you tax relief on your work travel. If you're not getting the full allowance from your employer, you can make up the difference by claiming a mileage tax rebate from HMRC. When you claim mileage rebates, if the amount is up to £2,500 you can do it with a form from the taxman (form p87). If you're doing enough work travelling to claim more, you'll need to file a Self Assessment tax return to get your mileage tax rebate. Either way, RIFT can help make sure you're getting everything you're owed.

Every year, about £180 million in tax refund cash goes unclaimed. You can still claim yours back for previous years, but you've got to move fast. There's a 4-year time limit on claims, so if you haven't got your money back by April after 4 years, it's gone for good! Remember: just answering our 4 quick questions will put you well on your way to getting back what's yours.

What is mileage relief?

A lot of people use their own vehicles when they're travelling for work. Claiming mileage relief is a way of bringing down your tax bill when travel is a necessary cost of doing your work. You may already be getting a mileage allowance from your employer for this kind of thing. Even if you are, though, if you're getting less than the rates set by HMRC, you could have a mileage tax rebate claim. There are rules around company cars and mileage tax refunds that you may need to understand too. However, if you're doing enough travelling without getting HMRC's full tax-free allowance, you should be claiming a yearly tax refund.

How much can I claim for mileage relief?

The rates set by HMRC for mileage relief in 2017/18 are:

45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles of business travel you make.

25p per mile for any further travel after that.

Those numbers assume you're driving a car or van. If you do your work travel on a motorcycle, you're looking at a flat 24p per mile. Even bicycle users can get in on the act. If you're riding your own pushbike for your business travel, you can still claim 20p per mile. Find out more about Approved Mileage Allowance Payments here. You can use our tax refund calculator to workout exactly what you could be owed. It takes less than a minute to complete and gives you an instant estimate. With just 4 easy questions to answer, that could be the most valuable minute you spent all week!

What records do I need to keep to claim a mileage tax rebate?

What do you need to claim mileage tax relief? Getting your record keeping right is the key to making the most of your mileage rebate.

The most obvious thing you're going to need to claim mileage on taxes is a full record of all the travel you've done for work. Be thorough about this. Don't just leave it to guesswork. Make a note of all the places you drove or rode to and the dates you did it.

Remember that you could have a mileage tax rebate claim even if you didn't use your own vehicle. Things like train fares and taxi rides can all be used to bring down your tax bill or claim a tax refund. You should keep your receipts when you're paying for these yourself without getting reimbursed by your employer. Most importantly, always talk to RIFT if you need help understanding what you can claim or how to claim it.

Complex travel claims team

When you're making complex, multi-leg journeys for work, your HMRC mileage claims can get tricky. Crossing borders or using more than one form of transport can throw up all kinds of complications when claiming mileage on taxes, for instance. Every leg of your journey could add to your travel costs, but keeping track of what you're owed is a challenge.

What's more, not every mile you travel could be eligible for tax relief. Claiming too much in your refund can actually be worse than claiming too little. That's a trap that many fall into, though. RIFT's complex travel claims team will make sure your claim covers everything you're owed, and keep you out of hot water with HMRC. It takes just a few seconds to see the travel you've done qualifies for a tax refund and it starts with our 4 easy questions.

Tax Refunds For

Our guarantee means you'll never lost a penny

When you claim your mileage tax rebate with RIFT, our unique RIFT Guarantee means that you don't have to worry about the taxman reclaiming any of your money. So long as you give us full and accurate information, if HMRC disagrees with the amount that we've claimed and ask for the money back, we'll pay it. It won't cost you a penny.